Thursday, September 17, 2009

Phillies Updates

Chan Ho Park "popped" his right hamstring last night when he delivered the final pitch of the 7th inning. He will be reevaluated today by the trainer, but this is simply bad news. A hammy takes awhile to heal, and it's not like the Phils have an abundance of time right now. Park may have been horrible in the rotation (7.29 ERA), but since being moved to relief (2.52 ERA) he's been outstanding. Maybe he can get Mr. Miyagi to do his miracle rub on it for a quick heal.

Greg Dobbs is back, but is he back? After being the NL's best pinch hitter in '08 (22-62, .355), he's taken quite the fall from grace this season (7-46, .152). Last night I noticed Dobbs' shaved his patented sideburns, which is like Samson cutting his hair by my estimation. The PH usually plays an important role in the playoffs, so hopefully Matt Stairs, Ben Francisco, and Dobbs can get some spot starts down the stretch here should the Phils quickly keep reducing their magic number, which now sits at 11 (next stop- Bowa's #10).

JA Happ is scheduled to resume his regular turn in the rotation, starting Friday against the Braves in Atlanta. It'll be interesting to see how the layoff effects his stamina and precision.

Cole Hamels looks to continue his recent success (2.03 ERA over last 3 starts) and finish off the Nationals tonight for a sweet sweep. The winless Ross Detwiler counters for Washington.

Shane had the Hershey-squirts and had to leave the game yesterday, and that's why Werth ended up in CF with Francisco in RF and a ball that should have been caught in the 9th fell between them. Lidge gave that run up, but he pitched well, because it should have been a 1-2-3 inning.